The House of the Scorpion

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**Title** **The House of the Scorpion**

Author	Nancy Farmer
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Young adult, Science fiction novel
Publisher	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Released	2002
Media type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages	380 pp
ISBN	ISBN 0-689-852223

The House of the Scorpion is a science fiction novel by Nancy Farmer published in 2002. The main character is Matt, a young boy who lives in the fictional country of Opium, which is located between the United States and Mexico, now called Aztlan.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Matteo Alacran IX, a clone of the powerful drug lord Matteo Alacran (El Patron), lived with a cook named Celia, his caretaker, who works at the "Big House". He is forbidden to form contact with any other people. When Matt sees some children for the first time, he tries to go out and meet them. He ends up injuring his right foot by jumping on glass and must be taken to the Big House for help. The doctor there realizes that he is a clone of El Patron, a powerful drug lord in the land of Opium. The children who rescued him, Steven and Emilia are horrified, though Emilia's sister Maria is more sympathetic to Matt, as they are the same age.

After being yelled at by Justin Alacran, and being put in a dark cell for half a year, El Patron comes to the mansion and, after seeing the conditions Matt lived in, orders him to be put in a room like everyone else. Matt is then taken to live with the rest of El Patron's families: the Alacrans. They are all selfish, greedy and despise each other greatly. However, they all are united in their hatred of Matt. As Matt grows up, it becomes very clear that despite El Patron's favoritism, he is barely tolerated. Considered a beloved pet by some and a diseased beastly intruder by others, he is kept ignorant of the nature of clones until a cruel joke reveals why he is different.

As the story progresses, Matt develops his perceptions of the people around him, especially that of the Alacran family. After a near-fatal heart attack, El Patron requires a heart transplant from Matt to himself, but is foiled when Matt's guardian, Celia, reveals that she has poisoned Matt with foxglove and arsenic, just enough that it would not kill the boy, but would kill El Patron if he were to acquire his heart. El Patron dies, and Matt escapes the mansion in the ensuing chaos. With the preparations of his bodyguard, Tam Lin, Matt manages to escape Opium to Aztlan, which was once the nation of Mexico. There, he comes across many events and places, such as a cruel environment for orphans. These orphans are called the Lost Boys. Matt is sent to live with the Lost Boys. The "Keepers" of this place treat the boys very unfairly (though claiming to be fair), having them laboring every day and feeding them " healthy and nutritious" plankton. The Keepers are allowed lavish quarters and delectable food, claiming that this is fair because they "earned" the right to do so when they were young.

Matt is at first an outcast, an unwanted aristocrat. However, as his peers see that he is not a spoiled child, Matt becomes a hero in his society, and leads a rebellion against the Keepers. After liberating the Lost children, Matt finds Maria. El Patron has a funeral, and his family gathers to celebrate the death of him, because they lived their lives in perpetual fear of him. They drink a special wine harvested in the year El Patron was born, which turns out to be poisoned, killing everyone present. Tam Lin also drinks the wine because he wants to end his life for all of the bad things he has done in his past, which includes killing 20 children with a poorly timed bomb that was actually meant for the English prime minister.

It is revealed that El Patron viewed his family as his possessions and when he died he would be taking all his possessions with him. Maria's estranged mother, Esperanza, who is a champion of clone's rights in the United States, tells Matt that because he is a clone of El Patron, upon the death of the original he now takes the originals place as El Patron, the ruler of Opium. Esperanza offers Matt her support as well as the aid of both the United States and Aztlan, but only if he promises to destroy Opium from within. He agrees, and then returns to Opium to take control.